Category Archives: Artwork

I really needed a wall space filled behind my couch, and I waited forever thinking of what to add. Etsy artwork was ideal, but too expensive. My searches on Etsy didn’t end in wasted time because I found the window frame idea and realized how simple it is!

There are many varieties of hanging photos in an aged window. Here is my version of the project. But I don’t have the step-by-step process, I’m sorry!

What you’ll need:

-Aged window frame

-Hemp, wire, or twine

-Staple gun

-Close pins

Simply staple the twine to the back of the window frame in a straight line from one side to the other. Be sure to leave room for a photo to hang before adding the next line of twine. I did two lines which was plenty.

I am slowly gathering pictures that I really want to hang up here since it is in my living room. The wedding invitations are especially pretty.

A cafe is always much cooler with a chalkboard menu. Homes can also look great with chalkboard walls or boards to serve as purposeful surfaces. It is important to tactfully use the chalkboards by placing them in appropriate rooms. I’ve found a few ways to incorporate chalkboards throughout my apartment

My first chalkboard project was a few months ago to use a few more of the canvases that I purchased from Michaels (3 for $15). These worked great for a permanent design with chalk because it was so difficult to erase. For that reason, I came up with designs that I was happy enough to live with for a while. I apologize for only having my ‘After’ pictures not having my ‘Before’ pictures on both of these ideas, they disappeared from my camera.

On a side note, ‘Tums’ works great as a last minute chalk solution- I used the Tums pills as the framing on the Utensils picture. It took a while to find some cute kitchen quotes, but I liked this Julia Child quote that I found online.

My most recently created chalkboard was originally White Elephant party gift. The gift was originally a block of wood with a tacky design. A wood block is the best way to achieve a functional chalkboard. It was also difficult to erase off of the wood block, hence the unusual design that I chose. The best solution, that I’ve been meaning to try, seems to be a white-vinegar mixture with water. Chalkboard designs can range from abstract, to words, to drawings and I had fun trying all three.

Geometric classic artwork are are everywhere online and they finally made it into my home! Not to mention, my blank canvases have finally found a purpose. Thankfully their purpose is to decorate our office room. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with the canvases (Five for $15 at Michaels) but when I finally picked them up, the inspiration hit. Thanks to Young House Love‘s photoshop prints they created, I had enough confidence to try to copy Crate and Barrel as well. My design idea came mostly from artwork from Crate and Barrel (6 prints for $370). Obviously, my budget doesn’t allow for spending that kind of money, so I found some supplies to copy the idea:

The project was so simple, and probably the most fun one so far because I felt like I was in a junior high art class. First, I created stencils to trace onto the canvas. My first was a clover design

The stecil was then traced onto the canvas in an orderly fashion, leaving equal spaces on all sides.

Then, using fabric markers, I traced the pencil lines over and gave the design a thicker look

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I repeated this process for the next three designs, one using a square stencil, the other using a circle…so easy!

As with all projects, I’m sure this will be transformed even more in the upcoming months. My first goal is to possibly stain the edges to age the picture and make it more like the Crate and Barrel prints. I also would like to figure out frames for the canvases someday. As for now, I am pretty content with finally putting color up onto our office walls.